Restoration ecology: Urban rewilding

The Frontiers of Restoration Ecology group is a multidisciplinary team with a common goal - harnessing innovative approaches to improve restoration success, for the benefit of the natural world and society alike. We recognise that our planet is rapidly changing and believe that to respond, we need solutions based on cutting-edge science.

The group draws together expertise that ranges from evolutionary biology to population genetics, ecology to plant physiology, to public health and biotechnology.

Having such a diverse team allows us to tackle problems from multiple angles, with collaboration at the epicentre of everything we do. The collaborative nature of the team enables us to work across several fields and we combine this expertise with modern genomics, bioinformatics and statistics.

Research highlights so far include pioneering the integration of genomics into restoration science, leading the development of the Microbiome Rewilding Hypothesis, enhancing the benefits to society from biodiverse urban green spaces, and contributing to the global revision of seed sourcing strategies under global change.